Bandy, I believe you because of what happened with my mom almost 2 years ago. She agreed to do short term rehab and the hospital social worker arranged everything. After only 2 days in rehab mom was readmitted to the hospital for weakness and vertigo. We chose a different hospital for personal reasons. A week later she went back to finish rehab. A few weeks later mom had a positive covid test (no fever or symptoms)& was isolated. During isolation she climbed from bed two days in a row and the nurse found her on the bathroom floor. And back to the hospital for the third time in 8 weeks. Very thin, screwed up in the head and couldn't remember much. I wish someone would have suggested skilled nursing at home the first go around. She did not have Dementia prior to the first admission.
I've been in rehab 3 times in the last two years. No one "put" me there. It was recommended that I go for Physical Therapy and to recover from orthopediac surgeries and once from cardiac surgery. I was given drugs as needed and when I asked what they were and why they were recommended. I followed instructions, asked questions and made progress.
I was well treated and pleased with the results. I would not hesitate to go again if it was recommended.
I have found when Rehab comes into the picture, I have never been asked I have been told Mom was being sent and given a choice of which facility. Conversation went like this "Mrs M this is Jane Smith the discharge Nurse. Your Mother is being sent to Rehab after discharge, which one do you prefer" No "We are suggesting after discharge that Mom go to a Rehab. We have a list of choices for you if you decide to send her" I was always under the impression that its usually the next step. Didn't find out it was a choice until my Dad and GF refused it.
The last time my Mom was in Rehab, it was going to be her last. All I heard was how Mom could not remember her exercises from the day before. That she couldn't follow directions. Why? Because she had late stage Dementia! She was only in to get her strength back. Which I was told was by an RN was 3 days of PT for every day in the Hospital. She went in on a Tuesday and discharged on Friday to Rehab. So 3 days? so 9 days in Rehab. She was in 18 and may have been more but I had told finance there was no money passed the 20 days that Medicare pays. She was very unhappy. I would have had her discharged earlier but I didn't have my first care meeting until she was in almost 2 weeks. Where I found out her Thyroid med had been dropped because a doctor felt her tests looked good enough to drop it. Her tests looked good because she was on medication. He felt he knew more than her specialist. Then told she would never walk without assistance again. She was walking around her AL with her walker within 24 hrs of her discharge with no help. I think she would have done better having PT come to her AL.
So it all depends what Mom is in for to how this can be handled.
I agree with Fawnby that you do not get PUT into rehab. It is an opportunity to get you on your feet. It sounds if your Mom is being drugged that she is unable to cooperate with any rehab regimine. I don't know your circumstances. If your Mom lived with you prior to placement in rehab after an incident or injury, and rehab is unable to deal with her, a move back home may be considered. I would ask for a care conference, something that rehabs have to do, and discuss with all there their recommendations, as well as their recommendations if Mom does return home. Rehab isn't a jail. You are free to make the decisions you feel best for you and Mom. Just be certain to gather all the info you can first. Remember when you ask a question here to include all the info you can and that will help us answer. For instance Mom's age, Mom's placement (your home, hers, etc) , the conditions Mom has, and etc. Wishing you the very best.
You don’t get “put” in rehab. It’s more like you “have the opportunity” to go to a place where you can be helped back to where you were before the reason you’re in the hospital. It’s something to be grateful for - that someone in the health hierarchy believes in you so much that they are willing to invest the time and effort in you so that you can learn to take care of yourself. The other option is to lie in bed the rest of your life hoping someone shows up to help you to the bathroom on time.
I assume she needs rehab so please don't take her home. Give it a minute and figure out exactly what is going on. Is she in pain? Maybe the pain meds are too much. Some meds make one person loopy and the next person there is no change at all. Work on getting them to put her on the proper meds and get her the rebab she needs. Good luck.
Larry, I agree. You need to talk to a SW and find out what is going on. Get back to us answering the previous questions. We maybe able to help in you finding answers.
1. Rehab is not prison. An elder can leave there, any time, against medical advice, and walk out the front door.
2. Drugging her up bad, as you put it, requires written prescriptions for each medication by her medical doctor, with a schedule of When they are to be administered and at what dosage. "They" cannot hand out drugs Willy nilly and on a whim.
3. What is your beef here...do you hold no POA for mom (assuming since you did not specify) and have no rights to know the details of her care plan? Because obviously, if you do have medical POA for her, you can see her care plan and med list and also speak to her doctor and nurses. Which is what I did each time my parents were in rehab. A care meeting was set up with me as the POA right after she was admitted. If I didn't agree with a medication, I'd speak to her doctor about it.
4. If you do not have POA, speak to the person who does and see if s/he will share info with you.
5. Why not get busy getting your questions and concerns addressed at the rehab rather than posting the title of a question on an internet forum? Speak to mom's case manager and social worker, if you hold POA, and resolve to get your questions answered once you jot them down on paper so you don't forget. We're always happy to help, but we do need more details in the body of the text section of the question.
Do you know if rehab works under the same hospital rules with Medicaid, that is if you are removed/remove yourself AMA and then need to go back in, Medicaid can refuse to cover the cost?
I know when my mom went into rehab, the facility told us if she left before they deemed her "ready", if she needed another facility, they would refuse to accept her. Since that wasn't going to be an issue for us - between the fact my mom was going nowhere until she was able to get up and around, and the fact there are multiple rehab facilities in our area, I didn't question the policy much further, but I was wondering if Medicaid could refuse payment if you leave the facility before they release you.
My mother did ST rehab after a hospitalization & for some unknown reason they started giving her Valium 3 times a day among several other medications. She didn't have dementia.
She may have had agitation that made it difficult for her to concentrate or for the staff to deal with her. A doctor would have had to prescribe Valium.
If she is in rehab to recovery from an injury or surgery, and she is elderly, she could be having post-op issues, like UTI, hospital delirium, infection.
Do you know what medications they are giving her currently? It is often the case that certain meds take a while for the body to become accustomed to and can produce undesireable results for a while. My 100-yr old LO is in rehab after a fall and they started giving her Seroquel for her behavior (she has advanced dementia) and also because her days and nights became mixed up. When visiting her during the day, she could barely be roused. Then on other days, she was alert. The nurse said it would take about a week for her body to acclimate once they found the right dosage.
Most likely it is not that they don't know what they're doing... it's just that everyone's body is different and there's no magical way to get medication correct the first time, depending on what she is taking. The best thing is for someone to be her Medical Representative and legal advocate. Is someone her MPoA? Is anyone? Is her doctor communicating with you?
Who "put" her in rehab? Why was she "put" in rehab? Where was she before she was "put" in rehab? If she is cognizant and she does not want to be there she can ask to get discharged, as long as she has a safe place to go and can either care for herself or has someone that can safely care for her. If she is not cognizant I go back to my original 3 questions.
I was well treated and pleased with the results. I would not hesitate to go again if it was recommended.
The last time my Mom was in Rehab, it was going to be her last. All I heard was how Mom could not remember her exercises from the day before. That she couldn't follow directions. Why? Because she had late stage Dementia! She was only in to get her strength back. Which I was told was by an RN was 3 days of PT for every day in the Hospital. She went in on a Tuesday and discharged on Friday to Rehab. So 3 days? so 9 days in Rehab. She was in 18 and may have been more but I had told finance there was no money passed the 20 days that Medicare pays. She was very unhappy. I would have had her discharged earlier but I didn't have my first care meeting until she was in almost 2 weeks. Where I found out her Thyroid med had been dropped because a doctor felt her tests looked good enough to drop it. Her tests looked good because she was on medication. He felt he knew more than her specialist. Then told she would never walk without assistance again. She was walking around her AL with her walker within 24 hrs of her discharge with no help. I think she would have done better having PT come to her AL.
So it all depends what Mom is in for to how this can be handled.
I don't know your circumstances. If your Mom lived with you prior to placement in rehab after an incident or injury, and rehab is unable to deal with her, a move back home may be considered. I would ask for a care conference, something that rehabs have to do, and discuss with all there their recommendations, as well as their recommendations if Mom does return home.
Rehab isn't a jail. You are free to make the decisions you feel best for you and Mom. Just be certain to gather all the info you can first.
Remember when you ask a question here to include all the info you can and that will help us answer. For instance Mom's age, Mom's placement (your home, hers, etc) , the conditions Mom has, and etc.
Wishing you the very best.
2. Drugging her up bad, as you put it, requires written prescriptions for each medication by her medical doctor, with a schedule of When they are to be administered and at what dosage. "They" cannot hand out drugs Willy nilly and on a whim.
3. What is your beef here...do you hold no POA for mom (assuming since you did not specify) and have no rights to know the details of her care plan? Because obviously, if you do have medical POA for her, you can see her care plan and med list and also speak to her doctor and nurses. Which is what I did each time my parents were in rehab. A care meeting was set up with me as the POA right after she was admitted. If I didn't agree with a medication, I'd speak to her doctor about it.
4. If you do not have POA, speak to the person who does and see if s/he will share info with you.
5. Why not get busy getting your questions and concerns addressed at the rehab rather than posting the title of a question on an internet forum? Speak to mom's case manager and social worker, if you hold POA, and resolve to get your questions answered once you jot them down on paper so you don't forget. We're always happy to help, but we do need more details in the body of the text section of the question.
Good luck.
I know when my mom went into rehab, the facility told us if she left before they deemed her "ready", if she needed another facility, they would refuse to accept her. Since that wasn't going to be an issue for us - between the fact my mom was going nowhere until she was able to get up and around, and the fact there are multiple rehab facilities in our area, I didn't question the policy much further, but I was wondering if Medicaid could refuse payment if you leave the facility before they release you.
Do you know what medications they are giving her currently? It is often the case that certain meds take a while for the body to become accustomed to and can produce undesireable results for a while. My 100-yr old LO is in rehab after a fall and they started giving her Seroquel for her behavior (she has advanced dementia) and also because her days and nights became mixed up. When visiting her during the day, she could barely be roused. Then on other days, she was alert. The nurse said it would take about a week for her body to acclimate once they found the right dosage.
Most likely it is not that they don't know what they're doing... it's just that everyone's body is different and there's no magical way to get medication correct the first time, depending on what she is taking. The best thing is for someone to be her Medical Representative and legal advocate. Is someone her MPoA? Is anyone? Is her doctor communicating with you?
Why was she "put" in rehab?
Where was she before she was "put" in rehab?
If she is cognizant and she does not want to be there she can ask to get discharged, as long as she has a safe place to go and can either care for herself or has someone that can safely care for her.
If she is not cognizant I go back to my original 3 questions.